The transformation project of the former École Normale d’Institutrices into a Hyatt Place Hotel in Rouen is part of a broader effort to enhance the site’s heritage and landscape. Perched above the city, the site benefits from a pronounced topography, which the project exploits to offer rich views and landscaped pathways. The outdoor spaces are organized into terraces, ramps, and planted belvederes, naturally connecting the different levels of the site and extending the architectural experience into the open air.
The landscape strategy is based on a contemporary vegetation framework that gently envelops the rehabilitated building. The palette, both subtle and local, combines shade trees, flowering beds, and herbaceous layers to recreate a natural ambiance while enhancing biodiversity. Stormwater management relies on landscape swales and permeable surfaces, integrated ecological features that are fully part of the site design.
The outdoor spaces serve as true extensions of the hotel’s uses: dining terraces, relaxation gardens, and serene walkways create a sensory environment conducive to well-being. Vegetation guides circulation, softens the relationship between heritage and contemporary architecture, and restores a harmonious dialogue between the building, the city, and nature. Thus, the project presents a landscape-architecture approach where greenery becomes a compositional element, a symbol of renewal, and a vector of identity for this iconic site in Rouen.
